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Still aiming to become a global leader in AI, the United States announced it will be moving forward on initiatives to incorporate generative AI into the inner workings of the Department of Defense (DoD)— just as AI's creators pitch their offerings to major defense contractors . Announced today, the office will be moving ahead with a new $100 million AI Rapid Capabilities Cell "focused on accelerating DoD adoption of next-generation artificial intelligence," including generative AI. It will be led by the department's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The announcement comes as a result of Task Force Lima, a Department of Defense generative AI task force established in 2023 to "assess, synchronize, and employ generative AI capabilities" in the DoD. "DIU's role is bringing the very best commercial tech to bear to meet critical warfighter problems with the focus, speed, and scale required to meet the strategic imperative," said DIU Director Doug Beck. "The result will help us scale the tech faster and more reliably, and will also help change the way the Department thinks about software development and delivery tempo for the future." The department's AI applications will include "decision support, operational planning, logistics, weapons development and testing, uncrewed and autonomous systems, intelligence activities, information operations, and cyber operations," as well as administrative purposes. Under the Biden Administration, the U.S. endorsed the international Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy, a best practices initiative to explore the development of AI's military capabilities — despite already using the technology in warfare applications. In a Nov. 2023 statement, the Department of Defense announced its intention to explore "the responsible military use of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems." AI watchdogs have warned of the accelerated use of AI in warfare and its global repercussions. One month prior, the White House announced an extensive regulatory executive order outlining risk and safety standards for AI, cybersecurity provisions, and various guidelines that spanned the Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, and Energy. The administration announced even more AI initiatives soon after , including the creation of a United States AI Safety Institute (US AISI). This was later followed by a warning to Big Tech to curb the spread of synthetic, AI-generated content. While it's uncertain whether President-elect Donald Trump will uphold the Biden administration's national and international AI commitments, the soon-to-be sworn in leader has already announced his pick for a position he's calling the "White House AI Czar." As for his picks for the country's defense leaders, Trump is rumored to be eyeing Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Shankir for a top spot in the Pentagon — Shankir is a proponent of the Department of Defense's rapid adoption of commercial tech, including AI. "The DoD has an imperative to responsibly pursue the adoption of generative AI models while identifying proper protective measures and mitigating national security risks that may result from issues such as poorly managed training data," said DoD Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Dr. Radha Plumb. "We must also consider the extent to which our adversaries will employ this technology and seek to disrupt our own use of AI-based solutions."

Shares of Bank of America (BAC) fell over 1% on Monday after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a cease-and-desist order against the lender for failing to timely file suspicious activity reports and correct a previously identified deficiency related to its customer due diligence processes. The OCC said the order also identifies deficiencies in the lender's BSA compliance program's internal controls, governance, independent testing, and training components. The bank has neither admitted nor denied the findings of the OCC. However, a Bank of America representative told Bloomberg in an emailed statement that the bank has been working closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over the past year to improve its anti-money-laundering and sanctions programs. “The work we’ve done so far positions us well to implement the requirements of the consent order.” The OCC order requires the lender to take comprehensive corrective actions to enhance its BSA/anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance programs. This includes hiring an independent consultant to assess these programs and conduct look-back reviews to ensure all suspicious activity was appropriately reported. Following the announcement by OCC, retail sentiment on Stocktwits dipped into the ‘bearish’ territory (44/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago. Most retail chatter on Stocktwits indicated a negative bias toward the stock. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares of Bank of America to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ while raising its price target to $55 from $48, according to The Fly. The brokerage expects a more balanced risk-reward and prefers money centers with a higher skew to capital markets. Meanwhile, shares of BAC have gained over 28% since the beginning of the year. For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<

After a humiliating afternoon on the South Coast on the weekend, Coventry City will be searching for some festive cheer as Plymouth Argyle visit for a Championship clash on Boxing Day. The Sky Blues were smashed 4-1 at the home of relegation-threatened Portsmouth last time out, whilst the Pilgrims played out a pulsating six-goal thriller with Middlesbrough in Devon. Following a pair of glamorous jobs in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park, Frank Lampard now finds himself at the helm of an underperforming Coventry side, who are looking to escape their worries of relegation in order to challenge for promotion to the top flight once more. The former England great has endured a mixed start to his tenure in the East Midlands, winning two, drawing one and losing two of his opening five league battles, with one of those defeats coming at the hands of newly-promoted Portsmouth at a raucous Fratton Park last Saturday. It looked as if the Sky Blues were heading towards successive wins in the Championship when summer arrival Norman Bassette opened the scoring inside four minutes on the South Coast, but a complete capitulation from the visitors was next on the agenda, with Pompey's Callum Lang firing four goals past Bradley Collins . Still reeling from their joint-heaviest loss of the 2024-25 campaign to date, Coventry are currently occupying 17th spot in the Championship standings ahead of Boxing Day's action, six points above the drop zone and a highly-concerning 11 points behind the playoffs. Lampard's troops will need to drastically improve on their return of 14 points from 10 contests at home if they wish to mount an unlikely top-six push during the second half of the season, although the Sky Blues have fared well in the East Midlands since the departure of Mark Robins , earning a combined four points from battles with Cardiff City and Hull City. After a disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City last season, Wayne Rooney has managed to bumble his way through to the festive schedule at the helm of Plymouth, who are fully prepared for another survival scrap following their avoidance of relegation by a single point during 2023-24. The Pilgrims are highly reliant on grinding out points at their Devonshire base and such was the case on Saturday afternoon, when strikes from Lewis Gibson , Darko Gyabi and Mustapha Bundu were enough for a share of the spoils with Michael Carrick 's promotion-chasing Middlesbrough. In the midst of a seven-game winless streak, Plymouth are rooted to the very bottom of the Championship table as 2024 hurtles towards its conclusion, with Thursday's visitors to The Coventry Building Society Arena one point behind Ruben Selles 's Hull City in the relative comfort of 21st. Staying true to their self-deprecating chant, the mighty Argyle have been woeful on the road so far in the 2024-25 campaign, with Rooney's men failing to win any of their 11 second-tier away matches, collecting just two points and conceding an eye-watering 29 goals along the way. Plymouth's awful run away from Home Park stretches back into the previous campaign, with Thursday's visitors last enjoying an away victory on April 5, when Pilgrims outfit under the interim stewardship of Neil Dewsnip recorded a 1-0 success at League One-bound Rotherham United. Failing to feature since early October because of a knee injury, Ben Wilson could be in contention for Boxing Day, especially considering Coventry's goalkeeping struggles in recent times. The Sky Blues are desperately missing the services of leading marksman Haji Wright , who is expected back in the New Year from a leg issue. Lampard is set to make a number of alterations following Saturday's embarrassment at Portsmouth, meaning that Jamie Allen could be given the opportunity to impress in the engine room alongside Ben Sheaf . Plymouth have seen their attacking options lessened significantly in recent days, with both Ryan Hardie and Michael Obafemi suffering injuries during the Middlesbrough draw. Argyle's only fit striker, Archie Gray is almost certain to start at The CBS Arena, with the veteran contracted to the club until January 3. The visitors are without a number of their first-team stars, including summer signing Ibrahim Cissoko and last season's top goalscorer Morgan Whittaker . Coventry City possible starting lineup: Collins; Van Ewijk, Latibeaudiere, Kitching, Bidwell; Allen, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Bassette Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup: Grimshaw; Mumba, Szucs, Gibson, Galloway; Randell, Gyabi, Bundu, Al Hajj, Issaka; Gray Although their Portsmouth performance highlighted major areas of weakness, Coventry will seriously fancy their chances of beating a Plymouth side who are terrible on their Championship travels. The Green Army will be hoping for a Christmas miracle in the form of an away victory on Boxing Day, although we do not believe that their prayers will be answered. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .

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Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle could be in line for a big game against Carolina's 32nd-ranked run defenseAT&T Revels In 2024 Gains. Can Telecom Stock Repeat Success Next Year?One of Macomb County’s major medical facilities will continue to push for placement of a powerline development in Clinton Township despite the opposition of some residents and township officials in the area. Henry Ford Hospital Macomb officials will go before the township’s Board of Trustees on Monday evening to further discuss a plan to build a series of utility poles carrying power transmission lines down 19 Mile Road, east of Hayes Road, to provide extra electricity to the hospital as well as area businesses and residents. The move follows completion of the Janet & Jim Riehl Patient Tower, a five-story, 225,000-square-foot addition featuring 160 private patient rooms. The $300 million project is the largest healthcare investment in Macomb County history, according to Henry Ford Health’s website. Much of the electricity from the new line will go to powering the new patient tower for and empowering the area’s future power needs, officials said “Our vision for the campus doesn’t stop there,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday. “We’ve always known our plans would require expanded utility capacity. Currently the powerlines to the hospital are close to capacity. The additional power lines will provide the long-term stability patients deserve and ensure we can serve our growing community now and in the future.” Monday’s meeting marks the latest effort by hospital representatives to convince township board members to approve the plans, which include a special land use application and site development for International Transmission Company (ITC). But the Clinton Township board has experienced personnel changes since the Nov. 5 election. Former township Supervisor Bob Cannon did not seek reelection and was replaced by Paul Gieleghem, and trustees Mike Keys and Tammy Patton lost their respective races. The board includes new members in Shannon King, Bruce Wade and Mike Aiello. Hospital officials said they hope to educate the new board members on the electrification project. “The transmission line project will provide our organization with the long-term ability to meet the needs of our community without any unnecessary risks along with dangerous outages,” Shana Johnson, hospital president, said at the board’s Nov. 6 meeting. According to Johnson, the hospital’s investment into the Riehl Patient Tower is approximately $300 million. Mike Markel, vice president of operations and chief nursing officer for Henry Ford Macomb, said the tower is designed to be a critical care facility in the future. If the power line project isn’t approved, additional work on the conversion will have to stop, he said. According to Markel, the power lines that run to the hospital are close to operating at capacity levels. “Critical care technology creates high demand on the power lines,” he said. “If the power lines are overloaded, we lose power and must rely on generators. If we find ourselves in a situation where we are at constant risk of overloading the powerlines, we won’t be able to fully activate the tower for critical care.” But township officials have been critical of ITC and the hospital, saying the power lines should have been already addressed. Trustee Dan Kress said the process now seems “rushed.” “A lack of planning on your part doesn’t constitute a crisis on our end,” he said. “This is a monumental decision that is going to last forever.” Kress made a motion to table the item to give board members time to review a 171-page document that was put in the board packet prior to the meeting. He said he would like the planning department and residents to weigh in on the development. The matter was tabled on a 4-3 board vote, with Kress, Keys Gieleghem and Trustee Julie Matuzak voting for the delay. Cannon, Patton and Clerk Kim Meltzer opposed the measure. Another issue centers on what route the power lines will take and whether they will be visible or buried underground. The proposed 80-acre path would cut through the Westchester Village Condominiums near the intersection of 19 Mile and Hayes Road. ITC Area Manager Gary Kirsh said all of the routes considered for the line presented their own challenges. Kirsh, a former elected official in Washington Township, said ITC’s preferred route is “the most direct route and avoids many of the challenges.” He conceded the path has “residential impacts.” “By the numbers, this route has the lowest residential impacts. But for those residents along 19 Mile, we acknowledge the impact they are feeling and their position that any impact is too much,” Kirsh said. Some township trustees suggested studying different routes, while others say they backed running the lines in a route that would cut through Macomb Community College’s Clinton Township campus. Plans call for landscaping and a decorative wall to be added to the mix to soften the visual impact of the power lines. Heather Puzan, who who lives in Westchester condos, is skeptical of those efforts. “All of the units on the second floor, every one of us, are going to have those power lines right in our line of view,” she said. “Those lines are going to be 40 to 50 feet from my livings room, from people’s bedrooms.” ITC and Henry Ford Health officials prefer a plan that would run the lines above ground. Kirsh said burying the lines present another issue. If the lines were buried, the construction area would be about 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep. He said all roads the line is crossing would be impacted and, if there’s a future disruption, the process to fix it would be difficult as the lines would have to be dug up in order to provide access to them. Officials said placing the lines underground would “significantly extend” the construction timeline, delaying the additional electrical capacity required by the hospital and township by three years or more. The underground option is also the most expensive alternative, representatives said. “Burying the lines underground is great until it isn’t great,” said Mark Corriveau, Henry Ford’s vice president and chief government relations officer. Finally, there is compensation to be paid to the Westchester residents by ITC. Therese Lenzini, whose daughter daughter lives in the condos said she has questions about the compensation. “I’d like to know, because this is obviously going to make you a lot of money, what they’re going to do for the residents of Westchester Village, whose condo complex is going to be greatly affected by this,” she said. Kirsh said the condo association’s bylaws require them to go through the state’s condemnation process. The process requires ITC to compensate residents impacted by the development in a particular way. In order to move the condemnation process forward, ITC needed to enter into individual lawsuits with affected residents. An attorney for ITC, Geoffrey Denstaedt, said the organization has deposited into escrow funds ITC deems to be the estimated just compensation. He said residents may present evidence to show whether they disagree and they believe the correct compensation should be. Heather Puzan, another resident who lives in Westerchester condos, expressed concern over how long it would take the landscaping ITC proposes to install to mature. She also said the lines likely will decrease the value of her unit and create an eyesore. “My home is now going to be somewhere I want to leave,” she said. The Clinton Township Board of Trustees meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Civic Center, 40700 Romeo Plank Road.

GDIN Successfully Supports Establishment of 10 New Joint Ventures in 2024 AloneBIOLOGY students from various tertiary institutions in Cebu City now have ideas on how to craft stories and content for their research projects that are suitable for various platforms such as print, online news sites and social media channels. The Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) extended its advocacy program, "Science Journo Ako," to 40 biology students from six colleges and universities in Cebu City. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.